


On the Windowsill

by All_The_Love_For_Hyuckle



Series: In Your Pocket [4]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: All dreamies are domesticated dragon bois, Alternate Universe - Dragons, Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, Fluff, Literally the longest thing I've ever written I'm so bad at this, Pocket Dragons, tiny dragons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-03
Updated: 2019-11-03
Packaged: 2021-01-21 10:22:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21297881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/All_The_Love_For_Hyuckle/pseuds/All_The_Love_For_Hyuckle
Summary: In which Jisung doesn't like storms, and Taeil doesn't like ominous creatures staring through his window.
Relationships: Moon Taeil/Park Jisung
Series: In Your Pocket [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1442137
Comments: 9
Kudos: 77





	On the Windowsill

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!   
I don't think I've ever been as excited to post something as I am right now, I write like a snail and schools been whipping my ass so this has been in the works since early September. It is now November. I've spent too long on this. But it is also the longest thing I've EVER written.
> 
> This obviously takes place before On The Couch, and after On The Bed, so I hope this gives clarification to anyone who's stuck around as I've pumped out bits and pieces of this series. 
> 
> I love y'all so much so please scream at me, and enjoy!!! 💕

** _ Friday, 9:28 P.M. _ **

Taeil wants to slam his head against his keyboard. Where his composure usually lies is a big lump of tar; black and unforgiving, throwing all of his self-help lectures out the window. Writing first drafts never came easy to Taeil, but when he started this project nine months ago after a _very_ inspirational speech by David Archuleta; he assumed that he’d have changed his ways. But no, here he was, skipping dinner, holed up in an old varsity hoodie from his college years trying to blast out a chapter on what he was worst at: putting yourself out there.

Now, Taeil likes to think that he isn’t unhealthy. He’s in decent shape due to Johnny’s influence and a tiring five days a week spent at the gym, he has a decent amount of friends that he’s rounded up from work or college, and in his humble opinion, he can be pretty damn funny. Pair that up with above-average looks (he would say good looks but no one can look good when his coworker Taeyong exists) and an almost healthy diet, you’d think that he’s quite the catch. However, he can’t help his naturally reserved demeanor; he’s an introvert at heart and will always prefer the comfort of his worn-down desk nestled into the corner of his 1st floor apartment to any of the ‘cool experiences’ his sales manager and best friend Johnny can drag him to.

Taeil feels awful– what is he doing, preaching to a vulnerable audience about making the most of life when he’s stuck at home, blaring motivational podcasts into damaged ears while living only off of caffeine and a fear of failure instead of a drive for success. He didn’t double major for nothing; where’s all the introspective psychological insight when he actually needs it? So much for self-help.

So yes, Taeil’s going through a rough spot, but at least he can recognize it, and he forgoes his initial urge to slam his head against the keyboard to have a thorough sob session instead. One, two, three tears stream down his face and drop onto his lap, accompanied by a flash of lightning outside his window to indicate the approaching night storm. He croaks out a brittle laugh in between heaves, at least now the world can cry with him; _how dramatic_.

He hears before he sees the subtle drops on his window, the clicks and thuds against the glass, but it only takes Taeil a moment to remember through his muddled mind that rain doesn’t thud.

_What._

Taeil quickly examines the window’s view only to find his own reflection cast by the desk lamp illuminating the room. He flicks the switch off sloppily, and returns his gaze to his window to find his view of what would normally be Purple Street blocked by a dark mass with two deep green orbs staring back at him.

_What the fuck._

Taeil regrets all the monstrous energy drink + coffee mixes he brewed for himself earlier when he jumps in his chair a bit more than he should have. He sniffles quietly to clear his nose so he can take deep, long breaths to calm himself, unsure of the– Dog? Cat? _Demon’s?_ intentions. The longer they stare at each other, the longer Taeil can’t tell what he’s looking at; the creature has a long, pointed tail that fans delicately along the base to the tip, and it’s crouching on the outer bridge of his window, hiding its torso from his eyes. However, the rain is making whatever the creature is reflective, and the recent moon is bouncing off its side, nearing its spine. The little mob’s most surprising features are found in its face; its eyes light up like glow-in-the-dark wands, the deep green in sleekly-shaped lids lulling Taeil into a false sense of comfort that penetrates through the rest of his unease.

Not another moment is spent observing whatever is outside his window, however, because the downpour worsens, and thunder booms through the city, allowing Taeil to feel its bass under his feet on his carpet. The sudden noise spooked the creature, who jumped before landing on Taeil’s window-sill only to slide around, slipping off clumsily with a mangled squawk.

Taeil could barely blink, let alone process, “Oh my god-“

** _ Friday, 9:33 P.M. _ **

Taeil is now inside, staring at the dragon on his table. Yes, that’s right, _dragon._ He should’ve known, Taeyong’s been volunteering in his free time at a literal dragon ranch for the past year now; whenever they go out for brunch he never shuts up about it. However, Taeil’s always thought about the dwarfed creatures similarly to snakes– you _can_ own one, but that doesn’t always mean you _should._

When Taeil looks at the dripping bundle of scales on his table, Taeil wonders if he should reevaluate his previous conceptions. It looked much darker outside, sitting at his window, but under the fluorescent lights of Taeil’s kitchen he can see that the hatchling is colored a soft beige, speckled with white that runs from the tips of its wings up its spine, ending as a star on its head. It’s been surprisingly quiet too, staring more than it spoke.

Taeil took a moment to search in his mind for all of his one-sided lectures given by his co-worker to see if he remembered anything of the species in front of him, only to find nothing. What did he know about domestic dragons anyways? They’re cold-blooded, and can’t get too hot or cold before their bodies act up. They have different talents which can be given away by their genotype, and were they capable of understanding humans? Taeil couldn’t remember. What he _did_ know was that the dragon in front of him did not like thunder, as he watched the smaller shrivel into itself every time the storm shrieked.

“I’m gonna-“ Taeil watches at the dragon’s eyes rip over the room to meet his and pauses at the immediate reaction, “I’m gonna get you a towel, uhm- stay here please.” He scurries off to his bathroom’s back shelf where he keeps his towels and grabs a thick black one, hoping that the dark color would keep it from getting stained by any mud or dirt on the dragon’s body. When he returns he’s pleased that the dragon hasn’t moved an inch; sitting pleasantly with his hind legs elongated out and in front of his body.

Taeil approaches the table carefully and unfolds the towel; running its length over the smaller’s back and letting the rim of the towel sit gently on its head as to not cover its eyes. The smaller backs itself further underneath the towel, folding his legs underneath his body and closing his eyes. He seems timid, and Taeil wonders if he’s a stray; it would explain why he found him outside on his street, but it looks so young and last time Taeil checked, dragons were too exotic to be cheap or unintentionally bred. 

“You’ve gotta have a home somewhere, then,” Taeil grumbled to himself, before releasing an enervate sigh. “I guess I’ll have to call up Taeyong now; see what he can do about this.” Taeil turns his attention back to the reptile under his towel, “Do you need anything? Water, Food?” He waits for a reaction; nothing. Maybe it can’t actually understand him like he assumed.

“Hey!” Taeil tries again, and the dragon’s face appears from underneath the towel. “Did– Do you want something to eat or drink, Yong-ah?” It tilts his head back at him, which elicits another sigh from Taeil. He walks over to the sink, grabs a small dish and fills it– figuring that since this thing is staying at his place until he can stick it on Taeyong tomorrow, it’ll need sustenance eventually. He sets the water dish near the towel and walks over to his fridge before realizing that he has_ no clue _what domestic dragons eat. It’s natural to assume that a dragon could be a carnivorous creature considering that they’re apex predators, but a subspecies genetically engineered and bred to be human-friendly may not have the same dietary habits. The smaller’s size and color may be throwing Taeil off as well, but Taeil figures he might as well try. If he accidentally stumbled across a vegetarian dragon, that’s okay too.

So, Taeil scrounges his fridge and finds some raw pork belly and quickly rinses it, before slicing off a thin piece– a tester of sorts– for the smaller.

“Do you like pork belly? I bet you do.” Taeil once again approaches his dinner table, but spooks when he watches the dragon scurry out from underneath its towel and stand on the near edge of the table, staring holes into the meat pinched in Taeil’s hand. Its current stance and wide eyes vaguely reminds Taeil of a meerkat, and he mentally applauds himself for capturing the dragon’s interest.

“Do you want it, _Yong-ah_?” he wiggles the meat in his hand, and watches in temporary amusement as the dragon’s head follows it eagerly, before dropping the meat and watching as the smaller quickly wolfs the meat down. Taeil looks back at the bag of meat on his counter, and decides that if he really needs more pork belly he can just make an unplanned trip to the supermarket.

He spends the next few minutes preparing the raw pork belly for his guest, and then brings it over straight on the cutting board, setting it down in front of the dragon carefully.

Within minutes, the whole of it is gone.

** _ Friday, 10:16 P.M. _ **

“Say, Taeyong, you wouldn’t happen to be busy tomorrow, would you?” It’s now too late at night to be on the phone, but Taeil finds himself asking Taeyong to grace him– and his house guest– with his presence.

“Working, yes, but not busy. Never enough to ignore you, that is.” Taeyong answers, and Taeil can feel his nose scrunch subconsciously at his sweet words. “Why? You never call this late at night, do you need something?”

“See uhm, that’s the thing. I have a visitor with me that I figured you’d know about… I just found a dragon at my window, uhm–“

“A dragon?” Taeyong’s voice perks immediately as he interrupts him.

“Yeah, a dragon. He’s maybe a bit bigger than Nana, for context. I don’t really know what to do with him though; I was hoping you could help.”

“Should I stop by tomorrow?”

An audible sigh of relief leaves Taeil, he didn’t want to have to ask for it himself. “Yeah, that’d be amazing.”

“Alright, I’ll be there at about 10. I’ll bring Nana as well, I don’t have a sitter and he’s good in public places.” Taeil waits in silence. “–And, while I’m there if you decide to keep him we’ll go out to the pet store and get the goods.” Taeyong sounds all too keen on the idea, and Taeil can hear his knowing grin through the line.

“Taeyong, I can’t keep him.” As much as Taeil doesn’t mind the company, he’s torn. Nora hasn’t come out yet once since the Dragon was taken inside his home, most likely making a temporary base inside Taeil’s box-spring. But…

“Yeah, yeah, that’s what Doyoung said.”

“You pressured Doyoung to keep Jeno!”

“No, I did not! Doyoung fell in love with Jeno in his own time, and you’ll probably do the same. They’re very enticing creatures Taeil; they’re made to be loveable. Don’t try and push your little guy away because of that. Now, I need to go to bed, I trust that you can handle him for one night. See you at 10 tomorrow?”

Taeil inhales, seething with resignation. “Taeyong, I never said I didn’t like him, I just don’t know if he’s compatible with Nor-“

“Okay, bye!”

_Click. _As Taeil’s phone falls from his ear, he finds the dragon of topic staring at him intently.

** _ Friday, 11:41 P.M. _ **

Taeil yawns as he washes the cutting board where the hatchling messily ate. Speaking of the hatchling, he seems to be much more comfortable now that his belly’s full and the thunder’s passed; settling himself on top, rather than under, the blanket-nest that Taeil prepared for him. The dragon vaguely reminds him of a cat, with a blissed-out expression and closed eyes.

“Cozy now?” Taeil asks, even though he knows now that the dragon won’t verbally respond. On top of the blanket, the smaller wedges an eye open lazily to acknowledge the older man’s words. “I’ll take that as a yes.” A pause, “I’ll be in my room, goodnight.” As he turns around to go to his bedroom, he wonders why he feels the need to talk to the smaller, even when he knows he won’t understand.

It’s only once Taeil’s in the doorframe of his own bedroom that he hears the scratching of nails on the linoleum flooring in his kitchen. He pauses and peers backwards into the hallway. “Yong-ah?” He watches quietly as said dragon approaches him, padding down the hallway in unbalanced strokes as he drags the towel Taeil gave him hours prior in his mouth, the ends dragging ungracefully behind his small body.

The smaller pauses at Taeil’s feet, seeing that they’re turned into the bedroom, and he shyly trots past him, entering Taeil’s residence. Taeil’s eyebrows furrow in confusion before his face softens. “You wanted to come with me? Are you still scared?” His voice isn’t much higher than a mumble, but the smaller still hears him well enough, and as Taeil plops on the right side of the bed, the dragon makes a place for itself at the foot of the bed on his left. The effects of the night hit him as soon as he hits the sheets, and he decides to be bad to himself for just one more night. _Screw brushing his teeth or getting changed, he’ll just do that in the morning._

** _ Saturday, 10:03 A.M.  _ **

“Thanks so much for coming over on such short notice, really.”

Taeil leans against the wall as he watches Taeyong seat himself on his recliner, Nana slinking up to Taeyong and perching himself on his knee. “It’s no problem, really. So, where’s the little guy?” Taeyong asks.

“He’s in my room right now; I didn’t know if it was safe to have him out when Nana was over if they were unacquainted.” (Taeil found himself bent over the smaller a few minutes ago, foot blocking his path out the doorway into the living room as the dragon attempted to follow him. “Stay– please, just for a moment. I won’t leave you in here for too long.”)

Taeyong brushes him off, “Oh, they’ll both be fine. Bring him out, Nana will stay calm.” Nana has a cunning glint in his eyes, and Taeil wonders if he’s aware of the situation at hand or if he just likes making Taeil feel at unease.

Taeil swallows down his thoughts. “Well, okay then. Give me a moment.”

He opens the bedroom door, and with a slight nod of the head he has the dragon trailing behind him, quietly padding through the carpeted hallway before making his way to the living room.

Three of the four in the room are visibly shocked, and Taeil doesn’t know why he’s a part of this.

“Jisung, how did you get out!” Taeyong says as Nana squabbles happily and hops down to the floor, allowing for Taeyong to stand as his own dragon rapidly approaches Jisung.

“Wait, this is one of the dragons form your ranch?” Taeil asks.

“Yes!” When both men look down again Nana is at Jisung’s side, happily chirping, wings moving uncoordinatedly with excitement as he attempts to nuzzle Jisung’s face. Jisung doesn’t look to be having it, face turned away and body leaning towards the floor, but he gives himself away with the low purr that makes its way through his body as he gives in to the smaller’s affection.

Taeil can’t help the smile that breaks through and settles on his features; the two on the floor are nothing if not precious, and he can tell that they’re basking in the unexpected reunion. Taeil double-checks, “And his name is Jisung?”

“Yes. He was in the same pride as Nana, but he hasn’t been put up for adoption yet due to insufficient social skills.” Taeyong crouches down and rubs his thumb down the knobs of Jisung’s spine in a loving gesture.

Taeil pauses, “Huh. He doesn’t seem that bad to me. If anything, he seems better when he’s calm like this, in comparison to yours.”

“I can see why you’d like that, Jisung’s really shy. Nana is…” He stares at his own, cooing and rubbing himself onto Jisung, “Nana is a bit more affectionate. He’s what I needed though.”

That strikes Taeil. _He’s what I needed. _When was the last time Taeil did something for himself that he needed, instead of wanted? All the times that Taeil has given in to bad habits, all the times he’s turned others down lately; has his isolation for his book really been what he needs?

“Anyways, now that we know that it’s Jisung, we probably need to call Peniel and let him know that we’ve got his missing dragon.”

Taeil nods blankly on instinct, dulled by his ponderings immediately being crushed before they could form into full ideas, “Yeah, okay. Let’s do that.” He misses Jisung’s curious glance sent his way as Taeyong stands, unblocking his vision.

** _ Saturday, 11:21 A.M. _ **

Nana and Jisung are now sat on Taeil’s countertop, the two men with them respectively leaning against the sink and fridge as Taeyong holds his phone to his ear. Taeil can’t hear much more than quiet rings and an automated voice message, _We’re sorry, the number you are trying to reach is currently unavailable; please try again later,_ from Taeyong’s cell.

Taeyong tsks as his hand falls to his side again, shifting his body slightly to give Taeil a more direct view of his front. “Peniel won’t pick up. It makes sense; he’s usually pretty busy on weekends, but still.” A small frown etches on his face as he continues, thumbs coming together in front of him. “I know he’ll be there on Monday though, he always is. Do you think you can keep Jisung with you until then? I’d take him but tomorrow I’ll be out all day and Nana is staying with Mark, so I won’t be able to look after him.”

Taeil’s gut reaction is a big fat _no, _he doesn’t need another distraction to keep him from his draft, but gut reactions aren’t always logical. Where else could Jisung go if Taeyong won’t take him? Taeil spares a look to the beige hatchling on his counter, quiet as ever even as he hits Nana with his tail discreetly, and considers. So far, Jisung _hasn’t_ been a nuisance; Taeil’s just been lazy. And Taeil needs to stop being lazy. “Yeah, okay, I can do that. Till Monday, right?”

“Yeah, just till Monday, or until I can actually get a hold of Peniel.” He nods, and Taeil can feel the initial calm and confidence that comes with taking on something new fill him with ease. _He can handle this._

“Okay, what do I need to do to make sure he’ll be alright?”

Taeyong stares at Jisung as he speaks, “I mean, he seems fine right now, whatever you’ve been doing hasn’t been too far off. Jisung’s old enough now that he doesn’t need blends anymore, so just plain meat will work. Nana really likes sugar, so I guess if you have time you can test around for what he likes past that? Well, actually, we don’t want him to get sick while he’s here so maybe you shouldn’t. Taking care of a hatchling is basically like taking care of any other animal; food, water, and love.” Taeil understands that well enough, nurturing his cat Nora for years has given him the parental instincts he knows he needs to keep Jisung safe, but he feels himself nodding along anyways.

“Take note though that they can be very materialistic. If he likes something a bit too much you may want to be prepared to send it off to the ranch with him when he goes back, he’ll probably think it’s his at that point anyways.” His shoulders shake as he chuckles, approaching Jisung as he finishes, petting the smaller’s head with one broad stroke of the hand that slides down to the knobs of Jisung’s spine.

As if on instinct, Jisung’s eyes flutter shut and his body drops closer to the countertop, shifting under Taeyong’s hand as a deep purr blooms in his chest. Taeil watches the interaction curiously and with undiscovered want; like how a young child watches the commercials between programs, not knowing that whatever he saw could be his, but letting it catching his interest anyways. He returns to his conversation with Taeyong, “Anything else?”

“No, nothing in particular. If you have any questions though you can always send me a text, I’ll try my best to check my phone between meetings tomorrow.” Taeyong gives an almost apologetic smile, and Taeil promises to himself to not bug the other unless absolutely necessary.

“I’m so sorry Taeyong, I know you’re busy, I’ll try and figure things out myself, I just know that you’re passionate about this and so I figured you were the best one to call.”

Taeyong’s rounded eyes go just a bit wider as he responds, “Oh, no worries! You’re right, I really do care about all of the hatchlings, it’s tough watching such loveable creatures face such tough criticism for things that aren’t their fault.” Taeil actually thinks he knows what Taeyong’s talking about, he’s heard that there’s a certain amount of prejudice concerning the subspecies for being bred instead of evolving along naturally, although as far as he’s concerned dragons didn’t exactly carry the best reputation anyways before the subspecies came about anyways.

Taeil feels a small pang of sympathy in understanding, and he finds himself nodding to Taeyong’s words. “Yeah; when do you need to leave?”

“By 12 at the latest, although it’ll probably be whenever I can pry Nana off of poor Jisung.” A fond chuckle follows from Taeyong and the two look back to Jisung, whose limbs are tucked underneath himself with a flicking tail and closed eyes, and then to Nana, who is sitting dutifully in front of the larger and licking his neck with purpose. “Nana’s acting like it’s been months since he’s seen Jisung last.”

“When _did_ he see Jisung last?”

“Monday.” Taeyong can’t help the grin that covers his face as he speaks, knowing full well the hilarity of the situation, and Taeil in tandem can’t help the small laugh that bubbles through his chest and spills into the air.

** _ Saturday, 6:13 P.M. _ **

Another package of pork has been given to Jisung for his meal, but Taeil isn’t upset by the loss; preferring to not have to cook and just microwave some cup ramen instead. Currently, Taeil is on the couch, his cup ramen and cold tea on the coffee table and his laptop out and opened so he can work on his draft. Despite being in a much better mood than he was last night, the words are still flowing onto the page slower than molasses, and he wonders just how long it will take for that ‘I-just-started-a-new-project’ energy to return to his words and inspire him. It’s been about thirty minutes sitting like this, and Taeil gets snapped out of his little daze by a soft clicking from the hallway behind him.

The clicking comes closer, rounds its way along the side of the couch, and it’s Jisung’s nails hitting the hardwood. In his mouth is the towel Taeil dried him off with previously, and he shyly approaches the couch’s front.

“Jisung-ah, do you want to sit up here with me?” Taeil watches as Jisung approaches the couch, disappears behind the edge of the cushions, and then pounces up and next to him. They make eye contact, and Jisung drops the towel from his mouth. The towel’s hem falls onto Taeil’s thigh, and Jisung shyly pulls it off for Taeil. Jisung crawls and perches onto his black mound, and stares between the screen and Taeil’s face glaring at the screen.

Although Taeil doesn’t notice, Jisung’s enraptured by watching the screen change; the blank page slowly but surely being filled with small, black letters that Jisung’s little brain can’t begin to understand. The pace of his writing changes, becoming faster as Taeil allows himself to write what he thinks without dwelling on the linguistics of it all, and Jisung’s eye pattern quickens, darting along with the cursor. Taeil’s working, losing himself to the addictive sensations of actually writing what _needs_ to be written, what he feels _compelled_ to share, and he blinks. Jisung’s paw has effectively slapped over the cursor on his screen, effectively putting to a stop to the spree Taeil just lost himself to. “…Jisung-Ah.” Jisung slowly retracts his paw, tucking it beneath his body and looking the other way. Taeil continues to work, slowly once again, with Jisung next to him.

** _ Sunday, 8:01 A.M.  _ **

Two nights ago, Jisung slept at Taeil’s feet. Last night, Jisung must have slept on the other side of the bed because when Taeil opens his eyes in the morning, still crusted by sleep, Jisung is the first thing he sees.

In what Taeil has begun to assume is his favorite position, Jisung is on his towel. His beige limbs are tucked beneath him, his tail is wrapped around his front, and his head is tilted up just enough to give him a feline resemblance. Taeil watches him as he rests, and questions his opinions of his guest. Yesterday was actually quite pleasant. Sure, Jisung requires a bit more of Taeil’s time than Taeil is accustomed to giving but– Jisung is calm. He’s complacent, and shy, but he seems to like being here. _Or_ maybe he’s only like this because he’s uncomfortable. Taeil frowns at the thought and brushes it off. Taeyong was acting like Jisung was okay, so he must be okay.

Taeil reaches out and runs his finger along the edge of Jisung’s jaw, which serves as an intense wake-up call for the hatchling, who immediately scampers a few steps back towards the edge of the bed. Taeil mutters out an apology; lips pinched together in a frown, and Jisung slowly makes his way back over to his hand.

Jisung allows Taeil to touch him; fingers trailing over the warm, rough surface of Jisung’s jaw where the full-sized scales don’t reach. Taeil watches intently as Jisung resumes his earlier position, and gently smiles as Jisung’s deep purr travels over the bed. Taeyong described creatures like Jisung to be enticing; Taeil just may be beginning to believe him.

** _ Sunday, 2:38 P.M.  _ **

Taeil leaves briefly to grab some groceries for the next week.

When he went initially, Jisung followed him to the door and ended up on his windowsill watching with confused eyes as Taeil left. When Taeil returns, Jisung is still perched on the windowsill; a black roll of fabric sprawled underneath him which Taeil can only assume is his towel. As Taeil comes closer, he realizes that there’s something sitting opposite of Jisung– _Nora_. As Taeil approaches his own front door they each seem to perk up in tandem, and when he opens the door he’s greeted with Nora’s loud mewls. Since when could they even be in the same room? Taeil thought Nora _hated_ Jisung.

As Taeil sets his groceries on his countertop, Jisung jumps down onto the hardwood to greet him. Taeil hears more than sees what happens, but he can tell by Nora’s aggressive _mreowl_ and Jisung’s frightened squawk that his initial presumptions still hold true. Jisung scampers over behind Taeil’s leg like a hurt puppy, but a quick once-over tells Taeil that Nora didn’t actually come into physical contact with Jisung. To calm him down, Taeil quickly bends over to stroke his head before returning to his groceries to put them away. _At least now Nora and Jisung can exist in the same space._

** _ Sunday 9:46 P.M. _ **

Taeil can’t tear his eyes from his computer screen.

**‘Hey Taeil, Johnny here.**

**I think you may want to reconsider your thesis and chapter 13, take a look at this…**

**_Link Attached._’**

The _link attached_ took him to a recent study- proving the pay gap between extroverts and introverts in freelance work environments- which is the _exact_ opposite of what he’s spent the last week drafting. _How could he miss this? _Taeil feels more than stupid; that’s over fourteen thousand words that are now going to get scrapped to all hell that could’ve stayed if he was smart enough to actually check for _new_ sources while writing. To make it worse, the draft for chapter thirteen is due on Tuesday at 6:00 P.M., which means that he has approximately forty-five hours to write the first draft of an _entire damn chapter_, so he can send it in to Johnny.

That’s impossible. Well, actually, it’s entirely possible, for anyone _except_ Taeil. Taeil however, unless struck by the gods of writing, types at the pace of a snail on a treadmill. He knows already that he can’t make that deadline, and so he has one option: ask Johnny for an extension on Tuesday night.

Now, Johnny is a lovely man who has honestly never wronged Taeil in any way that he wasn’t asking for, and so he already knows that Johnny will O.K. his request, but…

That means that Johnny will take the brunt of the punishment from their boss when he tries to compromise for more time. Taeil would rather _die_ than see Johnny get fired for something that was _his _fault (this time wouldn’t be a big deal, but Taeil’s other books were severely delayed as well). The guilt he’s projecting at the prospect of getting Johnny fired is building his anxiety faster than a house of cards can fall. The heat in his dining room rises. He closes down the study tab, copies and pastes his screwy chapter into a different document, and stares at his now blank slate.

This was supposed to be the most statistically rich chapter of his book, and now he’s found out that his information is _faulty._ Oh god, with a fuck up this bad he shouldn’t even be allowed to call himself an author- _who even does that? _ Whilst beating himself up mentally he slums back in his chair. He can feel his own eyes glass over; they quickly overflow, streaming over his temples and past his hairline. Curse him and his sensitive tear ducts; he takes a deep breath, counting in to four and ignoring the way that his chest shakes without faltering.

_Four-Seven-Eight; In-Hold-Release._ Taeil’s gone through the works; he’s basically a professional at deep breathing at this point (although Taeil’s heard from others that breathing isn’t a skill that’s all that difficult to come across.) But the tears _won’t stop_. They aren’t fat, they aren’t fast, but they _are_ incessant, although gentle. Even the smallest of streams still has a current, or a force, that holds its flow in one direction.

Staring up at the fan whirring above him as he cries can only do him so much good. Taeil closes his eyes, and wills for it to stop. Something changes. The noise above him isn’t the only thing that reaches his ears anymore; he hears the familiar _click-click_ of Jisung’s nails along the linoleum steadily approaching. It gets closer, and closer, and it stops by his chair. A weight falls onto his lap; Jisung quietly coos as a question. 

Taeil’s lips fold in on themselves and press together as he suppresses the tiny grin that’s made its way onto his face; he keeps his face upturned to the ceiling taking good note on the dusty condition of his fan as he lets the tears finish spilling so they can dry.

Jisung coos again, this time sounding significantly more concerned, and he stands on his hind legs to balance his front paws on Taeil’s trembling chest. He can feel Jisung’s dulled claws putting pressure on his loose-knit sweater, and it’s only once he feels a little nudge to his own chin that he knows that Jisung wants to see if he’s still crying. Taeil lowers his face down for Jisung’s viewing and sniffles, wiping his eyes dry.

“I’m okay Yong-ah, see?” Taeil smiles, knowing that it’s genuine and will soothe Jisung’s mind.

** _ Monday, 10:29 A.M. _ **

Dim sunlight shines through Taeil’s tinted windows and onto Jisung’s back. Jisung sits quietly, basking in the heat, unaware of where he is being taken. Taeil appreciates that Jisung can remain calm during drives; Nora hates them, and from what he’s head from Taeyong, other dragons are too excitable to stay in their seats. But Jisung _isn’t_ other dragons.

With every mile marker he passes, Taeil understands more and more that today is going to be their goodbye; Taeil’s going to go home and not have to think of the smaller anymore. It’ll give him more time to finish his book, and Nora will presumably be happy, but– Taeil feels _empty_. It’s not a good empty either. It’s a void, a deep sucking sensation, beginning in his stomach and expanding upwards, through the lungs and reaching his mouth in hopes to silence him.

_This doesn’t feel right. _This feels like a betrayal, towards Jisung. _Jisung_; who’s already learned the layout of Taeil’s home, who’s made himself a spot on Taeil’s bed, who’s opened up to be comforted and give comfort in return.

The pavement beneath them turns to dirt, and Taeil can see ahead of them the arched sign of the ranch Jisung was hatched in. He reaches over with his left hand (he doesn’t need it, he can’t drive a clutch anyways) and runs his thumb over the star on Jisung’s head, feeling the rough surface press back into his hand. He pulls in to a parking spot at the bottom of the driveway with a heavy heart, gets out of the car, and circles around to pick Jisung up; black towel beneath him.

** _ Monday, 10:34 A.M. _ **

Taeil finds himself walking down a long corridor inside of the ranch, heading towards the back to the Dragon Sanctuary. Taeyong’s pacing a few steps ahead of him, leaving him little to no time to look at the signs adorning the plackets on the many doors running along the hallway’s walls. Jisung is still in Taeil’s arms, staring intently at the door at the end of the hallway. It’s the only set of double doors, and they’re glass with screen enforcements.

“So, how was your weekend with Jisung?” Taeyong says, stopping at the last door before the glass ones. He goes inside and leaves the door open as he washes his hands, and then quickly takes Jisung from Taeil’s arms and motions for him to do the same.

Taeil lathers his hands in soap, “It was good– He was good.” Taeyong stares at him knowingly, lids relaxing and the corner of his lip quirking upwards.

“You sound sad, there’s still time to just take Jisung home you know. He hasn’t been adopted yet.” Taeil nods silently, staring at Jisung who seems intent staring at his own reflection in the mirror. Taeyong leaves the room and Taeil follows in suit, shutting the door behind him. “Alright, rules. This is the greenhouse- or the Dragon Sanctuary. Please don’t touch any machinery, open any doors, pluck or touch any plants, and most of all; don’t touch any of the dragons without permission. That includes Jisung; the greenhouse is monitored due to trafficking issues. Got it?” Taeyong smiles warmly at him.

“Yeah. Got it.” He can feel his brows furrow as he goes over the rules, stricken at how he isn’t allowed to even _touch _Jisung even though he had Jisung for the entire weekend.

The doors open, and the two men walk down the three steps into the main room; a large dome adorned with paneled walls for sunlight to pass through and all sorts of exotic greenery Taeil’s never been exposed to. In the middle of the room is a circle of green grass and a metal pole that extends all the way into the ceiling- but as Taeil stares at it, it looks much more like an extravagant cat toy. There are ledges sticking out of it, and platforms with ropes that extend to the wall and back. Cushions hang from some of the ropes, acting as beds, and other ropes have hanging toys that gently rock back and forth from momentum. There are bridges that extend from one side of the room to another, connecting miniature rock formations to caves and dens on the right. In the back left, a small stream flows from metal piping above the rocks. All the way in the back are three doors, the one on the far left adorned with an ‘EXIT’ sign in bold red lettering.

Taeyong pipes up again, “We’re here to find Peniel and tell him that you brought Jisung back. I know this all probably seems really high-end but trust me, he’s pretty laid back. Most of this is just state regulations.” Jisung is then set down on the floor, who quickly scampers underneath Taeil’s feet and to a ramp, heading upwards to a den with the towel in tow. “I’m pretty sure he’s in the Incubation Room. Give me a minute to find him, just stay in here and keep to yourself for a moment for me?”

Taeil nods; Taeyong’s instructions and the strict rules are beginning to resemble a walk down his elementary school hallway. Taeil’s the student, Taeyong’s the teacher, and he’s being escorted to meet the principal. Taeil swallows. What if he did something wrong and gets in trouble for it? Taeil rewires; he did them a _favor_. And despite how high-end and cool the Dragon Sanctuary is, these creatures are _house pets_. Peniel will most likely be just as friendly as Taeyong (or maybe not, being friendlier than Taeyong is a difficult achievement.)

A small chorus of squawks directly overhead leads Taeil away from his mental tangent. Neither of them sounded like Jisung. He stares above himself at the bands of rope that stretch from the side of the building to the centerpiece, and see two domesticated dragons darting across the ropes, wings out for balance, as they make their way over to the den Jisung’s settled in. Taeil finds himself walking along the floor paths, following the two as they make their way over to Jisung.

The louder one catches his attention first; darting towards Jisung at rapid speeds. Its scales are light purple– almost lavender– and his head’s a bit bigger than the rest of its body (Taeil wonders if all hatchlings have some strange set of proportions, because Jisung’s wings are much too big for his body as well.) The other dragon isn’t as rushed, trotting gracefully along the ropes in the purple one’s tracks. This one is gray, and incredibly small; Taeil wonders if this one was the runt of their pack. (Pack? Pride? Taeil isn’t sure. It may be pride.) Once they reach the den Taeil loses sight of them, but he does hear Jisung’s strangled squawk only a few moments after they leave his field of vision. _Dragons are such strange creatures._

“So, you’re the guy that saved our youngest?” Taeil looks back over to the doorway to the incubation room; Taeyong’s brought Peniel out. The first thing Taeil observes is that he’s bald. Like– _really_ bald. There’s no hair on his head. The second thing he notices it that Peniel’s in a lab coat, with a surgical face mask tucked underneath his chin. The final– and most comforting thing– he notices is that he’s grinning, and doesn’t seem to have any intentions of intimidating Taeil (Maybe now _Taeil’s_ the one acting like an antisocial dragon.)

“Uhm; yes. It was raining and he got my attention through the window so I let him in and dried him off.”

Penial hums as he slips off the lab coat and rests it on a hook installed next to the door frame, “Hmm. He ran off during our walk, and I was too busy chasing Lele around that I didn’t notice until it was too late,” Peniel scratches the back of his head in embarrassment, “Amateur move, I know.”

“I didn’t know that you were supposed to take hatchlings on walks in the city; it seems dangerous.”

“Oh, it is. It’s one of the final things we do with the little guys before we adopt them out. A lot of our customers are city-dwellers, and so naturally, we have to find a way to get the little ones properly adjusted to the new environment before they live there permanently. Walks are a good way to do that.” Taeil sees where Taeyong got all of his inspiration from, this guy’s just as informative and seems more than willing to let people in on his–their– lives. Speaking of Taeyong, he walks over into the middle door and comes back out with a small strip of what Taeil thinks may be pork.

“Jisung!” Taeyong whistles and crouches down to the floor, meat extended in his hand. Jisung comes quite literally hopping over stones and away from his den to sit in front of Taeyong. “Wings out!” Taeyong commands. Jisung obeys, spreading out his wings to their full span. “Wings in!” Taeyong repeats with a tone of finality and Jisung obeys again, folding his wings over the length of his back. Jisung gets his treat, and Taeyong stands, tapping the outside of his thigh twice, to which Jisung follows, chewing as he walks.

“Was he easy for you? Jisung’s definitely one of our calmest of the bunch, so I can’t assume he’d give you too much trouble.”

At the time, Taeil probably would’ve said that he did. Now… “No, no. He was easy. I liked having him at home with me.”

Peniel smiles, “Good. So, Taeyong told me that you’d possibly be willing to take Jisung off of our hands when he’s hit the adoption phase?” Taeyong’s grinning, now sat on a bench near them. Taeil should be shocked. Taeil probably _looks _shocked by the way Peniel raises an eyebrow in response. But leave it to Taeyong to set something up like this.

“I–“ Taeil is interrupted by something brushing against his leg. _Something_ being _Jisung_. Apparently it’s taken this long for Jisung to realize that Taeil _didn’t _immediately leave, and now he’s paying his dues. Taeil can’t say no when said adoptee is literally right at his feet, _can he?_

Peniel’s grinning now as well, and if Taeil weren’t so stricken by Jisung he’d pop a vein at his and Taeyong’s similarities. “How about… you think about it, I’ll keep preparing Jisung for adoption just in case, and Taeyong can do your background check over the week? Stop back in on Monday; see if your mind’s changed.”

** _ Next Monday, 10:02 A.M. _ **

Taeil has déjà vu. He’s on the same dirt road, has the same dimmed sunlight shining through the car windows and onto his passenger seat. Today though, the subtle loss that wrecked its way through his body on the drive there isn’t present.

Instead, Taeil feels hope.

It only took him about ten hours after returning from the ranch last Monday to know that he wanted Taeyong to actually do that background check. Tuesday was then spent subduing his emotions in the name of his career, but by Wednesday morning he had filled out the first set of paperwork; Wednesday evening was spent stupid giddy. Thursday through Sunday were blank days that slipped by fast as he waited for the next week, mindlessly droning through his work. By this morning, he was stupid giddy _again_. And now he’s here, walking through the ranch’s doors to find Taeyong smiling at him from behind the front desk.

“Let’s go get Jisung, Peniel’s working with him in the back.” As they walk down the hallway together for the second time, Taeil doesn’t have Jisung to carry, so he just holds onto his jacket instead. Which is fine.

The Dragon Sanctuary doors open after they wash their hands, and Taeil doesn’t have to wait even a minute before Jisung trots up to the two men, Peniel following in tow. “Taeyong will get you two all sorted out in the front,” Peniel smiles again, to which Taeil smiles back, “Have fun with him.”

“I will.” Taeil watches as Peniel crouches down in front of Jisung, petting him roughly on the back of his neck as a goodbye. Peniel seems hesitant to let Jisung go.

Taeyong speaks up, “Peniel, don’t cry too much _okay_?”

“Bug off Taeyong, I _raised_ him. Once Jisung’s gone, I’ll only have Renjun and Chenle left to take care of.” Peniel shakes Taeyong off and stands straight.

“Are those the purple and gray ones I saw last week when I dropped Jisung-ah off?”

Taeyong nods, “Yep. Of the six we started with in Jisung’s pride, those two are the only ones who haven’t been taken yet.”

Peniel buds in, fake coughing for effect, “_Stolen.”_

“Peniel, they’re all expensive as hell. I don’t think anyone’s been stealing anything except for you; who’s been eating up all of these poor people’s paychecks.”

A grin makes its way onto Peniel’s face, “Yeah, I guess. How else am I supposed to stay in business?”

“No comment. C’mon Taeil, let’s get you and Jisung out of here.”

After coughing up way more money than Taeil can normally splurge on (there goes Taeil’s ‘going out’ money for the next three paychecks), filling out some more paperwork, and Jisung being kissed goodbye, Taeil and Jisung are basically shoved outside with a care package, “Courtesy of the ranch.”

Jisung seems just as confused as ever, and Taeil feels the same, but maybe all of those shared emotions are what connected them in the first place. Taeil opens the passenger door for Jisung and straps him in, before circling around the car’s front and sitting behind the wheel. Taeil takes a deep breath; _in_ and _out_, before looking to Jisung. He still feels hope. 

“Are you ready to go home, Jisung-ah?”

**Author's Note:**

> Note: So I googled it cause I don't speak Korean, but apparently 'Yong' is dragon??? So yeah, that's about the nickname. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!


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